Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Truthwitch is a book I’d been longing  to read, but couldn’t find the time. I’d been hearing about it everywhere. It seemed to be exactly up my alley. But I’d received The Hunt and wanted to read it first. However, I hadn’t read the first two in the Devil’s Isle series. So I trekked off to the library.  While there I stumbled across Truthwitch peering at me from the shelves, and I knew I had to bring it home with me.

I let it sit on my nightstand for a little. After all it was something I knew deep in my bones I’d love. I don’t know how but I knew I would. And from that very first sentence, “Everything had gone horribly wrong” I was hooked.

Dennard writes in such a way that you abscond on the journey with Safi and Iseult, maybe it was for this reason I couldn’t stop reading until I ran out of pages. Quick paced and quick witted it was everything I wanted. The characters are complex, and the threads connecting them even more so. The depth to the characters makes the characters come alive. Real enough I could feel their fire and passions, their losses and triumphs.

This deeply layered backstory and understanding doesn’t stop with the characters, but we are introduced to a world as multifaceted as our own. I loved hearing the strife between the nations, and watching them interact. Not only were the intricacies between the nations well thought out, but we were able to see everyday life, including the prejudices of these people as well.

As with most fantasy novels, one of my favorite aspects was the magic. There are Windwitches, Poisonwitches, Tidewitches, and so many more. I was blown away learning how their magic worked. Their restrictions. How the magics and witches interacted. It was incredibly unique to me to show that power not only depended on the type of witchery, but also on the wielders. We were able to see the difference between a full Windwitch and a Windwitch that can only harness some of the abilities of the wind. It was absolute perfection.

I can’t wait to meet more people of this world as the series continues. I know that it will sweep me away. I was so enthralled in the story that at one point Safi raises her hand and I instinctively mirrored her. This is just an example of how tightly Dennard was able to wrap me  in her world.  I could see the threads of the people around Iseult and it was beautiful, enchanting, and beguiling. I know I’ll be off to the library tomorrow to get Windwitch so I may run away to the Witchlands once more. Please go and get it, you’ll be glad you did.

You can get Truthwitch here through Bookshop.org, which supports local independent bookstores!

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